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Footballers who have received UK honours

With the 2024/25 football season in full swing, we take a look at some of the former and current footballers to receive a knighthood, CBE, OBE or MBE British honour.

Footballers who have received a knighthood

Footballers with British Honours - CBE, OBE, MBE, Knighthood

Currently, there are 15 football personalities who have been knighted for their services to the game (excluding honorary knighthoods). The first man thought to have received a knighthood for his services to football is Charles Clegg in June 1927 (Gazette issue 33280). Though the citation did not mention football, Clegg was a former player who became both the chairman and president of the Football Association (FA).

Stanley Matthews (Gazette issue 43529) is the only active footballer to receive a knighthood and is also regarded as the first footballer to be knighted. All members of the England squad for the 1966 World Cup winning team were awarded the MBE, while Bobby Charlton (Gazette issue 53696) and Geoff Hurst (Gazette issue 55155) have both since received knighthoods.

More recently, Kenny Dalglish received a knighthood 'For services to Football, to Charity and to the City of Liverpool' (Gazette issue 62310) in 2018, while long-time Manchester United FC manager Alex Ferguson was also knighted 'For services to Association Football' in June 1999 (Gazette issue 55513). Former men's England National Football Team manager Gareth Southgate was also knighted "For services to Association Football" in the 2025 New Year Honours (Gazette issue 64607).

Active footballers with British honours

Currently, there are 18 active players who have received King's Birthday or New Year honours and are playing in the 2023/24 season:

While seven players on the list received honours for services to football, Marcus Rashford received an MBE in 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours "For services to Vulnerable Children in the UK during Covid-19", and Raheem Sterling was awarded an MBE "For services to Racial Equality in Sport."

As well as being awarded an MBE "For services to Football", Jordan Henderson also received his honour for services "to Charity particularly during the Covid-19 Pandemic", while Andrew Robertson also received his honour for services "to Charity and to Young People."

Notable famous former footballers with British honours

Here are some recent former footballers who received British honours:

*Alan Shearer was also appointed an OBE in 2001 (Gazette issue 56237).

**Ian Wright was also appointed an MBE in 1999 (Gazette issue 55710).

Foreign football players with honorary British honours

Anybody in the UK can make a recommendation for a British national to receive an honour. However, the Foreign Office does also recommend honorary awards for foreign nationals to be approved by His Majesty The King.

Currently there are six non-UK footballers to receive honorary British honours, with the most recent being England manager Sarina Wiegman following the teams' win at the UEFA Women's Euro 2022:

  • Henrik Larsson MBE (honorary)
  • Pelé KBE (honorary)
  • Niall Quinn MBE (honorary)
  • Peter Schmeichel MBE (honorary)
  • Sarina Wiegman CBE (honorary)
  • Gianfranco Zola OBE (honorary)

See also

Gazette tennis greats: infographic

Find out more

Nominate someone for an honour or award (GOV.UK)

Images 

Getty Images

Publication updated

2 January 2025